This marketing practice has many analogies or anecdotes to explain its logic. Going with the flow; swimming with the tide; sailing with the wind to your back; picking the low-hanging fruit. I am sure you have a few analogies of your own to remind you that it doesn’t make sense to spit into the wind or pull on Superman’s Cape.
As logical as these reminders are, you don’t have to travel far to see people banging their heads against a wall in an attempt to get things done. It is still true, that in many instances, less is more.
In this lesson, I share with you a true event that I witnessed on a daily basis while spending the summer months on my grandmother’s farm. This particular story involves flies attempting to flee to freedom by trying to exit through a window screen. The results were not pretty.
Three feet to the right of the protected window to freedom was positioned a swinging door which operated every few minutes by the children dashing in and out of the house. Flies have never been credited with being too bright and I could almost hear them saying to themselves, “With just a little more effort, I believe we can fly right through that meshed device keeping us from getting out of this place.”
Which made more sense? The window? Or the open door?
The door to freedom, if you follow my thinking, had a narrow “window” of opportunity as it only opened when a child entered or exited the room. Therefore, the smart fly, the educated fly, the fly who exhibited a small amount of patience, would be poised and positioned to make the dash once the “door of opportunity” showed a little daylight. I hope you are following me. If not, you had better read it again from the top. If this story wasn’t true, I could use a cow or a pig instead, but pigs don’t fly.
Bottom Line: Stop banging your head against the wall (screen). Look for, recognize, and even create when necessary, that small window (door) of opportunity and take advantage of it when it does “open.” Doesn’t it make more sense to swim with the tide?
Examples
Which makes more sense and provides more opportunity?
| Choice A | Choice B |
| Cold calling strangers | Asking people you know to call you |
| Meeting someone new | Meeting a current client |
| Being late for a meeting | Being early for a meeting |
| Think about sending a thank-you card | Sending a thank-you card |
| Hoping for some business | Asking for business |
Mike Marchev is always looking for a few more proactive travel professionals to join his Sales and Marketing Club. mike@mikemarchev.com.
*** You want more to think about? Check out my weekly podcast (Mike’d Up Marchev). Also listed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google, and iHeartRadio.
